Ansis Nudiens

EDEP 5184
May 5, 2014
Culture of Education
After graduating from high school a!out 10 years ago" and starting my studiens in
uni#ersity $ had not e#en the slightest intention of !ecoming a teacher and to associate my future
career %ith &edagogy' $ %as fascinated !y ethnic, cultural and religion(s history, $ did not see)
&ractical a&&lications for this )no%ledge and $ had a!solutely no &lans to share it' During my first
years in *ni#ersity, $ did not &ay any attention %hether or not my )no%ledge %ould !e usefull in a
!roader conte+t' ,)ills and )no%ledge $ gained from lectures and classes $ considered to !e useful if
$ could use them com&leting assignments and reading s&ecific historic literature and &rimary
sources' $ %as fascinated rather !y the &rocess of learning and !eing &art of en#ironment and
culture, than some tangi!le re%ard in future' My moti#ation %as to accumulate )no%ledge %hich
not necessarily re-uire direct a&&lication" and e#eryday contact %ith the &rofessors to %hom $ felt a
tremendous res&ect' ,o, my moti#es %ere rather ideological and idealistic than &ractical'
.o%e#er, fre-uently $ came in contacts %ith the confusion of my &eers, family and society
as %hole %hether or not my education %ill suite to the needs of la!or mar)et, so $ get caught u& in
the discussion on %hether instead of studying /i!lical archeology and the history and traditions of
0udaism $ should focus on more &ractical areas that might !e useful for the society and %ould meet
the re-uirements of the la!or mar)et' No% that $ am directly related to the education system and
high school students, $ reali1e that this is a serious dilemma that young &eo&le are facing, namely,
the choice !et%een usefulness something that meet the re-uirements of the la!or mar)et" and
interests something that is directly related to the students( interests, !ut not al%ays seen as a useful
!y society", ideally these elements coincide, !ut often there are cases %hen the choice is #ery
difficult' 2hese choices are also com&ounded !y &ressures and e+&ectations of friends and family,
so the choice that is made is not &urely an indi#idual, although %ill lea#e a direct im&act on the
future of this &articular indi#idual'
,o, to some e+tent indi#idual choices are affected !y the society and the en#ironment
/runer, 1334"' $n today(s glo!al, highly materialistic %orld, the collecti#e o&inion &ays a huge
attention to such tangi!le entities as food, housing, clothing, etc' 5rom the &ossession of these
entities deri#es an im&ortant &art of an indi#idual(s identity 6 social status' $n order to &ossess these
o!7ects and social status, %hich comes %ith it, one must to &artici&ate the la!or mar)et according
to its re-uirements"' 2hus, the indi#idual is &art of an endless cycle, a constant struggle for sur#i#al
in the materialistic society, and as a fight for sur#i#al, it re-uires the continued a!ility to ada&t to
changing realities' $n my case, $ %as forced to choose the field of education, e#en though $ had no
&lans and e+&ectations %ith res&ect to this &rofession' My choice %as affected !y my a!ility to
ada&t to en#ironmental re-uirements' ,o teacher(s &rofession is the &oint %here three elements meet
6 a" my s)ills, my offer history )no%ledge"8 !" my needs dictated !y en#ironment salary, food,
housing, clothing"8 and !" la!or mar)et re-uirements need for history teachers"' 9onse-uently,
indi#iduals are forced to ad7ust their ideals to succeed in a gi#en en#ironment and society' An
indi#idual does not li#e in a social #acuum, !ut re&orts directly to the &rocesses and changes in
society' Education, !oth formal and informal hel& e+&lain the social, cultural and en#ironmental
cues, traditions and re-uirements'
$t is essential to &ay attention to the %ay ho% the understanding of reality is constructed'
2here are different &ossi!le e+&lanations of reality, ho%e#er each society %ithin the frame%or) of
its local culture negotiate on the most a&&ro&riate and suita!le one' 2his understanding of reality
ser#es as the unifying element for the society' Although the %orld, reality and the en#ironment is
continuously changing, mem!ers of society negotiate on a common understanding of it, to ma)e
e#eryday life more sta!le and understanda!le /runer, 1334"' $n this case, it is a construction of the
story on the origins of the &articular en#ironment and society Mythology and: or science"' $t
de&ends on each indi#idual %hether or not this story is acce&ted, ho%e#er the refusal to acce&t it
may interfere %ith &artici&ation in this gi#en society' 5or e+am&le in ancient ;reece tohose
indi#iduals %ho might !e a threat to the &eace and order %ithin community %ere e+&osed to
ostracism, %hile in medie#al Euro&ean communities those indi#iduals %ho o!7ected and refused to
acce&t the generally acce&ted #ie%s on the reality of the %orld and the en#ironment %ere
stigmati1ed sorcerer, %itch, ,atan(s ser#ant" and e#en destroyed' $ndi#iduality is &ossi!le !ut it is
limited !y the a!ility to fit in' .o%e#er, no%adays it is &ermissi!le to consider certain &luralism in
matters relating to areas such as origins of the <orld, e+istence of ;od, glo!al %arming and
contacts %ith e+tra 6 terrestrials' .o%e#er the most im&ortant, from the &oint of #ie% of the
e+istence of the society, are issues such as ethnicity, national identity, statehood, !elonging to the
country, citi1enshi& and ci#ic res&onsi!ilities' No%adays, society is !ased on t%o ma7or institutions
6 the family and the state' $ !elie#e that in the %orld %ould start something li)e the chaos in
/a!ylon, descri!ed in /i!le, if one of the t%o institutions %ould !e 7eo&ardi1ed' <hile %ithin the
society lets say %ithin a country" discussion negotiation on Meaning" of religion, glo!al %arming
or the sincerity of e#olution theory is &ermitted, then this )ind of discussion is limited on issues
a!out the foundations of state and nationality 6 on these areas are -uite critical is the collecti#e
o&inion %hich has !een constructs %ithin the time of many generations and therefore should !e
acce&ted as un-uestiona!le true and dominant narrati#e' <e assume that there isn(t one a!solute
truth and many different &ers&ecti#es and &lurality of o&inions are &ossi!le, although issues that are
directly related to e+istence of society and its dominant narrati#e such &luralism is re7ected' 2his is
achie#ed through the society(s internal hierarchy and e+isting &o%er &ositions' $n addition, the
dominant narrati#e is the &roduct of the &rocess of negotiation on meaning' 2he story is im&ortant
and dominant, %ith the consent and su&&ort of the ma7ority of society /runer, 1334"' <ithin the
society there may not !e a general consensus, and the di#ersity of o&inions is normal, !ut it should
!e remem!ered that collecti#e o&inion is constructed !y ma7ority and other 6 o&inions of the
minority often has !een silenced 5i#ush, 2011"'
2he school, in this case, has t%o main goals 6 a" to educate the ne% generation to !e a!le to
&artici&ate in, and contri!ute to the e+isting society, %ithin the frame%or) of local cultural8 and !"
to de#elo& of each student(s a!ilities and s)ill, in order to de#elo& their interest on the %orld, thus
&romoting learner(s autonomy and indi#iduality /runer, 1334' =arson > ?ei&er, 2011"' The
Regulations on the Basic Education and its Curriculum issued !y the Minister(s 9a!inet of the
@e&u!lic of =at#ia set the follo%ing o!7ecti#es for schools and education systemsA
B2. Basic education program's main objectives are as follows:
2.. provide students with social and personal basic !nowledge and s!ills necessar" in life#
2.2. to provide a basis for further learning#
2.$. promote students' harmonious development#
2.%. promote a responsible attitude towards self& famil"& societ"& the environment and the
state. B
2herefore, the schools, teachers and students are forced to face the duality of the education system
6 ho% to maintain students( uni-ue identity and to &romote indi#idualism, at the same time training
students to !e a!le to &artici&ate in the society' @eturning to my dilemma 10 years ago 6 my
&ersonality and indi#iduality dictated my inclination to study such im&ractical areas as /i!lical
archeology and the history of 0udaism, !ut to fit into the society, in order not to !e accused on
re7ection of its !asic &rinci&les $ %as forced to choose a teacher(s career, e#en though $ had no
&re#ious intention in this area' $t should !e noted though, that the Bsocial &ressureB is not something
'eviathanic, it %ould !e -uite %rong to say that my choice to !ecome a teacher %ould deri#e from
a ho&eless situation or that $ had to !ra)e my &ersonality for this choice' .o%e#er, at the same time,
there %as some internal struggle !et%een the indi#idual and indi#idualistic" needs and social
demands' 2hus, school is the setting %here the !attle individualism vs. sociabilit" occurs most often
and %ith the greatest intensity, ta)ing into account the adolescence is the time %hen a young
&erson(s &ersonality is formed' 2his internal struggle is #isi!le in students( search for their identity 6
to fit in, %hile retaining their indi#iduality' 2his search is really com&licated, at the age of
adolescence students are sho%ing strong interest in the latest technologies, !ut do not )no% ho% to
use all the o&&ortunities offered to organi1e their %or)' ,tudents are a!le to -uic)ly a!sor!
information, !ut 7ust as -uic)ly lose interest in the tas) and does not necessarily lead it to the end'
2eenagers are eager to !e acti#e &artici&ants in social interactions, !ut often ma)e mista)es in
!uilding a successful and efficient relationshi&s %ith others' $n addition, the students %ant to !e
inde&endent at the same time can !e easily in7ured !y &eers' 5inally, adolescents ac-uire ne%
intellectual a!ilities to in-uire, in#estigate, dra% conclusions", !ut do not )no% ho% to use these
ca&a!ilities =arson > ?ei&er, 2011"' 2hese factors that determine the students( daily mood largely
influence the teacher (s role and res&onsi!ilities 6 the teacher is no longer sim&ly an intelligent
&erson %hose 7o! is to enlighten students %ho come to school as a !lan) &ages classic Prussian 6
@ussian educational system a&&roach", !ut the teacher is an ally, %hich creates all the conditions for
the student to !e a!le to ma)e good use of the energy from their internal struggle and inner dou!ts'
2here is al%ays a certain ri#alry among the different stories, &ers&ecti#es and &oints of #ie%'
0ust as in society at large also in the school there are dominant stories, stories of minorities,
&ersonal stories as %ell as stories that are deemed as de#iant, and therefore necessary to !e
silenced' 2he en#ironment at different le#els &lays a #ery im&ortant role of &ersonal de#elo&ment,
so %hen the students come to school, they already ha#e a significant !ac)ground )no%ledge, these
!ac)grounds and &ers&ecti#es may differ from the schools dominant &ers&ecti#e' 2hus, in some
cases, the school may gi#e the im&ression of !eing a re&ressi#e en#ironment, forcing to acce&t
&articular &ers&ecti#e, ho%e#er if it ha&&ens, it is largely the fault of student himself herself",
!ecause s:he may not ha#e either the %ill or a!ility to engage in discussion and thus affect the
negotiation of meaning <enger, 1338"'
,chool is a &lace %here the t%o different cultures encounters 6 youth culture and adult
culture' /et%een these t%o cultures e+ist so6called generational conflict, %here the younger
generation o!7ect and &rotest against the &ers&ecti#e and information offered !y older generation,
thus it creates the im&ression of a school as a re&ressi#e institution' .o%e#er, this &icture is not
com&letely true, !ecause the educational &rocess is not a one6%ay street, there is constant e+change
of information, !oth !et%een students and teachers and !et%een students themsel#es' $n addition,
negotiation on meaning %ithin the school en#ironment is not 7ust limited to the #ertical line teacher
administration" C6D student' A #ery large &art of a day students s&end among each other in constant
social interaction and through this interaction students negotiate on meaning, seting rules and road
signs on ho% to na#igate and ho% to fit in the community of school' 2here are #arious narrati#es
and su!cultures in school settings 6 s&orts teams, social clu!s, friends circles, outcasts' ,chool
community, li)e other communities, &ossess their inner hierarchy, dominant story, &o%er &ositions
and also narrati#es that has !een silenced' /elonging to any of those grou&s are &art of formation of
young student(s identity /runer, 1334' <enger, 1338"' =i)e in the classes, students learn the s)ills
of certain su!7ect area, during the !ra)es and recess students learn a #ariety of social s)ills and an
understanding on the la%s and &rinci&als of the society as a %hole, thus these s)ills are no less
im&ortant as these gained in the classroom' ,o at the end, this social e+&erience in the school is
in#alua!le and largely determine the &osition of the indi#idual in the future social interactions' 2his
e+&erience also &ro#ides a #alua!le lesson, that it is not al%ays necessary to follo% the dominant
story, e#en the &ers&ecti#e of minority, if coincide %ith one(s &ersonality, is note%orthy' $n an effort
to define their identity e#en silenced narrati#e might !e unifying element among the &eo&le %ho
doesn(t really fit in the dominant narrati#e' $n addition, this silenced narrati#e of the minority is
great mo!ili1ing &otential 6 for e+am&le, #arious youth &rotest mo#ements, and e#en re#olutions
5i#ush, 2011"' Ef course, the re#olution in schools is not as common &henomena, !ut this &otential
can !e used in some creati#e or learning 6 related acti#ities' 2hus, the search of li)e6minded &eo&le
and engaging in #arious different communities %ith different &ers&ecti#es also contri!ute to the
di#ersity of o&inions, %hich can also affect the dominant story, re6negotiating the meaning <enger,
1338"'
$t is for the teachers( o%n interest to facilitate the information e+change &rocess, as this is
li)ely to encourage students to &artici&ate and !e acti#ely in#ol#ed in the learning &rocess' $n
addition, information and e+change of #ie%s is not only #ertically students C6D teachers, !ut also
hori1ontally 6 !et%een the students themsel#es, sometimes the flo% of this information is rather
uncontrolled and un&redicta!le, %hile using techni-ues such as grou& %or) and &ro!lem6sol#ing
tas)s, it is &ossi!le to ma)e this e+change of information useful' ,tudents( interactions is a #ery
im&ortant &art of e#eryday life in school' 2hrough these interactions students learn ne%s, rele#ant to
them, form their taste, discuss ho!!ies, learn !eha#iors and ha!its and also &ic) u& some
undesira!le !eha#ior, such as s)i&&ing classes, smo)ing, drug use and so on' As $ mention !efore
s)ills and )no%ledge students &ic) u& from interactions are sometimes e#en more im&ortant as
those from the teacher' 2hus, to &ro&er conditions energy from these interactions might !e
!eneficial to the learning &rocess' $f there are right directions, then students may learn useful thins
from each other' .o%e#er, if teachers stic) to strict #ertical one6%ay relationshi& teacher 6D
student", then there is a high ris) of encountering the resistance of students, accusing teacher of
im&osition of a &articular &ers&ecti#e forced to an a!solute truth"' ;i#ing students e#en a small
im&act and the a!ility to choose may su!stantially im&ro#e -uality of the learning &rocess /roo)s
> /roo)s 133F' =arson > ?ei&er, 2001" ,uch &artici&ation and influence gi#es the im&ression of a
7oint enter&rise in the classroom, thus education is no longer 7ust a %himsy of &arents and teachers,
!ut it !ecomes a &art of student(s identity' ,chool, thus, &ro#ide not only a )no%ledge and s)ills !ut
also a sense of !elonging and common goals <enger' 1338"'
$ mentioned earlier that our #ery im&ortant needs are directly arising from the en#ironment
and local culture' 2hese needs are affecting our e+istence and school should !e a &lace to learn, ho%
to meet these needs' 5rom these needs largely de&ends %hat s)ills and )no%ledge are deemed
necessary and useful' *sefulness is one of the most im&ortant elements that contri!ute to the
learning &rocess' $n addition, it is not enough that this usefulness is e+&lained in theory, it is
necessary for students to ha#e the o&&ortunity to actually &ractice to test their )no%ledge and s)ills'
Eften in the schools there is a climate that is e+&ecting &erfect !eha#ior and &erfect ans%ers in the
first or second attem&t %ith a 1ero tolerance for mista)es, in addition, it is e+&ected that the results
%ill !e !rilliant in e#ery su!7ect area' 2his a&&roach can increase students( an+iety and a#ersion
to%ards school and education in general' $n order to a#oid the image of school !eing a re&ressi#e
institution, it is necessary to !uild an en#ironment of acti#e &artici&ation encouraging to ma)e
mista)es' Mista)e is &art of the learning &rocess, any e+&erience, e#en negati#e one is #alua!le if
conclusions are dra%n' 2hus, the acti#e &artici&ation !enefits as follo%s 6 a" only in &ractice,
actually using the ne%ly ac-uired s)ills and )no%ledge is &ossi!le to e#aluate the utility of
)no%ledge8 !" only re&eated &ractice including mista)es", %ith and %ithout assistance allo%s to
get the necessary e+&erience to de#elo& and strenghten s)ills8 c" re&eating e+ecution of authentic
tas)s, hel&s to to ma)e the choice %hether or not this &articular acti#ity coincide %ith the learner(s
interests' .a#ing this )ind of learning en#ironment it is easier to ta)e a stance in the dilemma $
mention a!o#e'
Eften in =at#ian fol)lore and classical literature 13th" school is com&ared to the tem&le,
%here one can ac-uire the most sacred &ossession 6 )no%ledge and s)ills' 2his )no%ledge is rather
di#ine and the &rocess of ac-uisition is highly timorous and is controlled from the to&' 2he one %ho
enters in the tem&le the student" has no right to -uestion the teachings and the authority of teacher'
Perha&s this com&arison comes from the 9hristian e+&erience, %here during the ser#ice, in the
9hurch on ,unday some undenya!le information %as &ro#ided' No#adays, ho%e#er, the school is
rather com&ara!le to the &o%er &lant, %here a #ariety of une+&lained &rocesses ta)e &lace %hich
results not %ith the a!solute truth !ut rather %ith the energy that ena!les the ac-uisition of #ariety
of )no%ledge and s)ills'
Refereces
1' /roo)s, 0', ;', > /roo)s, M', ;' The Case for Constructivist Classooms. 133F
2' /runer, 0' The Culture of Education. 1334
F' 5i#ush, @' (pea!ing silence: The social construction of silence in autobiographical and
cultural narratives. 2010
4' =arson, /', E',> ?ei&er, 2', A' )nstructional (trategies for *iddle and (econdar" (ocial
(tudies. 2011
5' (ociocultural Theories of 'earning and *otivation' Edited !y Mc$nernry D', M' 2011
4' <enger, E' Communities of practice: 'earning& meaning& and identit". 9am!ridgeA
9am!ridge *ni#ersity Press, 1338
G' +otei!umi par valsts pamati,gl-t-bas standartu& pamati,gl-t-bas m.c-bu prie!/metu
standartiem un pamati,gl-t-bas programmu paraugiem. Ministru )a!ineta notei)umi Nr'5F0'
@Hga 201F'gada 4'augustI &rot' Nr'42 45'J"
K
KThe Regulations on the Basic Education and its Curriculum issued !y the Minister(s 9a!inet of the @e&u!lic of =at#ia,
@iga, Aug' 4, 201F